


But She Loves Me

by mr_awe_and_some



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, KaraMel, Other Ships Not Mentioned in Tags, Probably Some Minor Characters Not Mentioned in Tags, arguing like an old married couple, kind of a relationship study
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-09
Updated: 2017-07-25
Packaged: 2018-11-29 18:15:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,802
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11446350
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mr_awe_and_some/pseuds/mr_awe_and_some
Summary: Just a behind the scenes rewrite of season two that starts between episode 15 and 16, right after she was fired, centered around Karamel. Mainly fluff.





	1. Chapter 1

Kara sat slouched over on the couch, pulling a fuzzy blanket around her and staring dully at the wall. Couldn’t there be some alien that needed punching, or a CADMUS official to track down with the DEO? Lena Luthor asking for her support in yet another life-risking activity? Even hanging out with Winn would be preferable to this mind numbing boredom.

There was a knock on the door and Kara, who had gone into her own head, jumped up in surprise. She x-rayed the door. When she saw that it was Mon-El, a huge sigh of relief escaped her mouth. 

She undid the latch and opened the door, letting him sidle past her. “Hey, babe,” he said, putting down his bag by the couch. “I brought snacks.”

“Potstickers?”

“Not this time.” Kara pouted and he smiled, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear. 

“Hey. Come sit with me,” Kara said, moving back to the couch she had started thinking of as their couch and patting it with her hand. He flopped down, the couch bouncing under his weight, and tucked his feet underneath himself. He put his arm around Kara and she snuggled into his side.

They stayed like that, silent and pressed into each other comfortingly, until Mon-El broke the silence. “I need to use the restroom,” he said, quickly disentangling their bodies. She sank back into a slouch, hugging her knees to her chest, and stayed like that until he came back.

“Don’t sit like that, Kara. I read in one of your magazines that it’s bad for your back.”

Kara scoffed. “I’m Supergirl. I could hold a bus on my shoulders and my back would be fine.” 

“Come on,” he said, flashing the puppy dog eyes. “Just sit up straight.”

“Okay, okay,” she said, scooting so the back of the couch was supporting her. “Sit on my lap.” Mon-El looked shocked for a moment, and she rolled her eyes. “Are you a man of Earth or not?”

“I’m more of a man than any man of Earth,” Mon-El crowed. After a moment’s hesitation he flopped himself down ungainly on Kara’s lap, Mon-El’s arms wrapped tightly around Kara.

They sat like that for a few minutes, until Mon-El broke the silence.

“I didn’t know you and James had a thing,” Mon-El said quietly.

Kara paused for a moment at the sudden comment before replying quietly, “I thought I told you.”

“If you told me, I wouldn’t tell you that I didn’t know, would I?” Mon-El replied a little testily. 

“Come on, it’s not a big deal,” Kara protested. “We only kissed twice and the first time didn’t even count since he got brainwashed halfway through it and… you know what? It doesn’t even matter. It’s in the past.”

“You kissed?”

Kara scoffed. “Uh, yeah, what did you think having a thing meant?”

“I just thought you two were into each other.”

“That’s what people do when they’re into each other. They kiss.”

“Did you love him?”

“Does it matter? James isn’t the one I’m dating.” Kara leaned in to kiss Mon-El’s cheek. “You are.”

“I don’t know much about communication, but I’m pretty sure you didn’t answer my question.”

“How did you even find out?” Kara asked and pulled back a little so she could look him in the eyes.

“I was talking with Winn.”

“About what?” Kara started getting worried. Winn could have said anything. It’s not that she didn’t trust Winn, she did, it’s just that sometimes he didn’t always know how to keep a secret. 

“How many secrets could you possibly have, Kara?” Mon-El moved off of Kara’s lap and down the couch a bit so he wasn’t not touching her anymore. 

“It wasn’t a secret!” Kara reached out to take his hand in both of hers. “I just didn’t think it was important, it’s a part of my past that doesn’t matter anymore! I have you now and none of what happened with James matters to me. Remember what I said?”

Kara waited until Mon-El is looking at her before continuing. 

“I said that being Supergirl and having you is enough. I don’t need to be a reporter at CatCo. I don’t need anything or anyone else but you in order to be happy, Mon-El. I promise.”

Mon-El just looked into her eyes for a heartbeat before he sighed and cupped her cheek with his free hand and smiled gently at her. “I believe you, Kara. I just… got worried when I heard you two had been a Thing, whatever that means on Earth, especially since the two of you are still buddies. I mean you two work together! He gets to see you every day! Or, well, he did, I mean - I’m sorry I didn’t mean to bring it up-”

Kara shook her head quickly. “No, no, it’s fine, I’m fine.” 

“You know I’ve never loved anyone the way I love you,” Mon-El said insistently. 

Kara smiled and sighed in relief. “Yeah, I know. You told me this morning. And last night. Five times.”

Mon-el pressed his lips against hers, his hands cradling her face like it was fragile, vulnerable. She wrapped her arms around his neck, tugging him closer, savoring the heat that raced through her body.

She pulled back. "I'm not used to this. Being able to just- kiss someone."

"Get used to it, babe." He leans back in to kiss her again.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Date night!

In the days following her firing, Kara was struggling to find a way to keep herself from falling into a depression. Mon-El was over whenever he could be but since M’gann had left, he was pulling double shifts at the alien bar. It was hard for Kara to feel bad about that since he was trying his best to adapt to Earth, and getting more responsibility at his job was great for him.

On his first night off in days, Mon-El had headed straight back over to Kara’s apartment for a date night in.

“Looks like I have you all to myself tonight,” Mon-El said mischievously. Kara smiled at him indulgently.

“What’s the plan?”

“I’m going to cook dinner for you with a recipe I found on a cooking blob, and we’re both going to dress up fancy and eat together. That’s what all my research on human customs say to do on a date.”

Kara giggled a little and waved her hand dismissively. “Oh, well, we don’t really have to dress fancy if we’re not going out you know? We can be casual, just us.”

“No, no, this is what all the movies say about human mating, Kara. Getting dressed up in fancy clothes is what they do and since we are on Earth and I am your…” He stumbled for a second and rolled his eyes as he tried to remember the term, “... boyfriend…” Kara smiled bashfully and glanced down at the floor. Mon-El raised her chin with his finger so she met his gaze. “We are going to do this right. Okay?”

Kara nodded in agreement. “Okay.” She cleared her throat a little and then pulled away and gestured somewhat awkwardly towards her bedroom. “I guess I should go get dressed then.”

“How about the blue one? You look so beautiful in it.”

Kara stopped near her bedroom door and frowned, turning over her shoulder to look at Mon-El. “Shoot. That dress isn’t clean.”

“Why isn’t it clean?” Mon-El questioned, trying to remember the last time she had worn it around him.

“I was wearing it the other day.”

Setting the stuff down he had brought for dinner, a pout crossed over Mon-El’s lips as he looked to Kara with his puppy dog eyes. “Why would you wear it when I’m not around?”

Walking back over to Mon-El, Kara wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed a kiss to his nose. “I’m sorry. I promise I will find something that makes me look just as beautiful.”

“Impossible,” he replied, smiling a little bit as he returned the nose kiss. “But go. Go get ready and I will do this cooking thing.” He frowned at the kitchen as he started rummaging around for food and equipment, every so often pulling something out and staring at it in confusion for a moment before either putting it back or setting it on a counter.

Kara took her time trying to pick out a dress, racking her brain to remember Mon-El’s reaction to her in them. Finally she settled on a simple pink dress. It wasn’t her favorite but it was one that she knew he loved and since he had gone out of his way to make this fancy date possible, she could put in some effort to look nice for him.

Returning to the kitchen, a laugh came from Kara as she saw Mon-El with a look of concentration on his face as he tried to do something with a tomato.

“What are you doing?” she asked stepping next to him.

“Trying to make tomato sauce,” Mon-El said as he crushed the tomato instead of dicing it with the knife.

Giggling, Kara shook her head and she tried to take the knife from Mon-El. “The tomato has to be cut up to get a sauce. You can’t just squash it.”

“No, no. I am making the dinner. When the man plans the date, he should do all the stuff. Even the cutting and not squashing,” he countered.

Putting her hands up, still smiling at how cute her boyfriend was being, Kara backed away from the kitchen island to let Mon-El work. “You’re the boss then. What would you like me to do?”

“Sit there and look pretty?”

“You mean like this?” Kara took a seat in one of the stools and propped her chin up between her hands, batting her eyelashes playful at Mon-El. 

Laughing, he reached over and pressed a quick kiss to Kara’s lips. “Perfect,” he said.

Kara sat and watched Mon-El try and cook with a content smile on her lips. He really had no clue what he was doing but he was trying his best. Watching him cook and do this nice thing for her, Kara got lost in her daydreams about how maybe just being Supergirl really was enough. There hadn’t been a lot for her to do with the D.E.O. the last few days, but that was sure to change soon. It always did. 

With everything in pots and finally cooking, Mon-El opened a bottle of wine and took the open seat next to Kara, pulling her attention back to him.

“To us,” he said with a smirk. Kara clinked her glass against his and took a drink. This really felt nice.

“Thank you for being here,” Kara said sincerely, sadness saturating her tone. “I don’t know how I would get through all this without having someone by my side.”

Kara knew it wasn’t fair to begrudge Alex spending more time with her new girlfriend than with her sister (she of all people knew how exciting a new relationship could be!), but she did miss all those sister nights. It had been a long time since they’d hung out together, just the two of them. Not that she didn’t enjoy spending time with Mon-El, of course, but spending time with her sister was different than spending time with her boyfriend. 

She missed Winn and James, too. It felt like the Superfriends had been split up into two groups now that Winn and James had their own Guardian thing going on that didn’t include her. She couldn’t even remember when the last Superfriends game night had been. 

And now that Winn was working at the D.E.O., and Cat had left, and James was the new CEO, it felt like she didn’t have friends at work anymore, either. Not that she even worked at CatCo anymore, obviously.

Mon-El was the only person who seemed as lost and alone as she was, and the only person willing (or able) to make time to spend with her these days. Which, again, wasn’t a bad thing, she loved spending time with her “awe and some” boyfriend! She just missed the other people in her life, too. 

As if sensing her inner turmoil, Mon-El spoke up. “You know me, I wouldn't leave even if you wanted me to.” He reached out for her hand, rubbing the back of it with his thumb.

Kara laughed, the corners of her eyes crinkling as she smiled. Even though he said it to make her feel better, she knew there was a lot of truth to it. She tried to shake off the lingering sadness from her previous thoughts.

Leaning in and giving Kara just a quick kiss on the lips, Mon-El got up and headed back to the stove to get their dinner. Scooping two hefty portions of pasta and sauce onto their plates, he carried them over to the table and set them down.

Kara slide off the stool with her wine and started to make her way towards the table.

“Ah, ah, wait,” Mon-El instructed. “I will do this right by Earth customs.”

Rolling her eyes, Kara stopped and watched as Mon-El pulled out her chair for her. The way he smiled back at her, clearly so proud of what he had figured out, made her heart skip a beat. He really could be so cute when he tried hard.

“Wow you really did your homework didn’t you?” she giggled as she looked at the delectable pasta sitting before her.

“Uh, yes, yes I did,” Mon-El replied, nodding his head. Kara had obviously noticed his effort. Taking a seat at the end of the table next to her, he lifted his fork and grinned again. “Bon Appetite.”

Kara smiled back and took a bite, spitting it back out instantly. Mon-El had done his best but whatever was on that plate was not edible at all.

“What? It’s terrible?” Mon-El asked. Hurt ran through his voice and Kara turned to him, slightly wide eyed. 

“No, no. Well yes.” She sighed and frowned looking at the food. It was unbearably salty. “How much salt did you use?”

“Half a cup like the recipe said.” Mon-El got up from the table and walked back to the kitchen, lifting a large glass to show Kara. He pointed halfway done to emphasize his point. “See? Half a cup.”

Kara couldn’t help exploding with laughter. Mon-El remained rooted in his spot, dumbfounded at what he had done. Getting up, Kara moved over to him and held his cheeks between her hand.

“That’s not the kind of cup you use for cooking Mon-El,” she told him, still laughing.

His face fell more as he realized he’d really screwed up. “I didn’t know.” He let out a sigh and dropped his head.

Feeling bad, Kara lifted his head back up and kissed him.

“It’s okay. Now you do,” she said when she pulled back from their kiss.

The frown was still on Mon-El’s face, so Kara kissed him again, over and over until he finally cracked a smile.

“Okay, okay. As long as you know that it’s not because I’m a bad cook. I made a mean Mascatara back on Daxam,” Mon-El said. “You can order the take out and I’ll pick a movie for us to watch. Winn gave me a few suggestions I’ve been meaning to check out.”

“Sounds great!” Kara stood up to go get the menus. Mon-El leaned back to watch her walk away. She picked up the Chinese menu and rifled through it, and he walked over to the stack of DVDs by the TV. He had just picked one out when Kara finished ordering and zipped to his side.

“What are we watching?” she chirped.

“What are we eating?”

Kara wrapped her arm around his waist and he put his arm around her shoulder. “Chinese,” she said.

“Is that the food with the rice and the vegetables and- what was it called-”

“Soy sauce,” Kara said. She smiled, remembering how excited he was when he first got to try it. “Yeah.”

“Oh.” 

Kara was surprised to see him pout. “What, do you not feel like that tonight? I could order pizza.”

“No, it’s okay, you already ordered,” he said, the pout only slightly fading.

Kara sighed. “I can eat three times as much as you. I could eat all the Chinese food I ordered, by myself! Extra food is not a problem in this house. So tell me what you want and I’ll get it for you.” She put her hand on his upper bicep, squeezing lightly in a way that was meant to be reassuring.

“Pizza?” he smiled hopefully and Kara grinned back at him. “With the meat slices?”

“Pepperoni,” she corrected, already on her way back to the take out menus. She just reached the stack of multicolored papers when she heard a knock on the door.

Mon-El and Kara both stared at the door in confusion for a moment.

“You weren’t expecting someone, were you?” Mon-El asked. “Or did the delivery guys from the Chinese place suddenly get super-speed?”

Kara shook her head. “No. And it can’t be D.E.O. related, or someone would have called me.”

She walked over and opened the door to find James Olsen behind it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :O the first cliffhanger!! Thank you so much for reading please leave a comment if you liked!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the last chapter, Mon-El and Kara were having a dinner date in Kara's apartment, and James showed up.

“James! Hi!” Kara exclaimed, entirely surprised. She glanced quickly over her shoulder to Mon-El, who was definitely not that pleased to see James at the door which was completely understandable given what he had just recently found out, and James’ atrocious timing.

“Hi. Sorry for just dropping by,” he replied, his eyes flickering over to Mon-El. “Things have been crazy and Snapper only just told me he fired you. Kara I’m so sorry, I would have done something if I’d known what was happening.”

Hearing the verbal reminder that she had been fired made Kara swallow hard. She took a step back to let James in. As he stepped in, Mon-El stepped over to the door as well, wrapping his arm around Kara’s waist.

It was very different for Mon-El to see James now, armed with the knowledge that he and Kara once had feelings for each other. James shifted his weight a little nervously as realization slowly dawned on his face.

“I'm interrupting something,” he said, his eyes flicking over her dress. “Man, I’m sorry, just say the word and I'll leave.”

“No, you don't have to leave,” Kara said hurriedly. “I knew what I was doing when I posted that blog article, so please don’t apologize, it isn’t your fault at all. I can always find another job.”

“Well that’s why I’m here,” James said with a little more confidence. “Cat left me in charge Kara. And she made you a reporter for a reason. I can go over Snapper’s head and hire you right back. You belong at CatCo.”

Kara was still quiet as she took in James’ words. It sounded really good to be able to just go back to CatCo. Almost too good to be true.

“It’s okay, James,” Kara replied. “Maybe getting fired was a good thing for me.”

“Are you sure babe?” Mon-El asked frowning as he looked at Kara. “I mean if James can get you back to blobbing isn’t that good?”

He may not have liked the fact that James had a thing with Kara before him, but if she got to go back to doing what made her happy, then Mon-El would go along with it. 

“Snapper just likes to be the big dog but he’s not the real alpha,” James told her. “I promise, you can come back. CatCo isn’t the same without you.”

“I appreciate that James, I do,” she told him. “I want to go back to CatCo, but I want to go back because Snapper has realized I’m a good reporter and that he was wrong for not running the warning article about the abductions, not because my friend happens to be the CEO now.”

“Because that is nepotism,” Mon-El interjected, “We had that on Daxam and it is not a good thing as I have learned.”

A small chuckle came from Kara as she looked at Mon-El. He was getting better about Earth things all the time. He really had changed so much since he crash landed in that pod.

“You should come back, Kara,” James said, dismissing Mon-El. “Having friends in high places can be a good thing. Just come in tomorrow and I can tell Snapper you’re back.”

“James, I don’t know. It’s probably not a good idea.”

“You belong at CatCo. This’ll work, Kara,” he kept pressing.

Mon-El could feel Kara shrug her shoulders and rubbed her back, trying to make her feel better. This guy really didn’t know when to quit, did he? Maybe Winn needed to teach him how to listen to people and respect them, the way he’d helped Mon-El.

“You shouldn’t have been fired. Snapper should be for not supporting his writers,” James kept on.

“Don’t do that. Snapper is really important to CatCo.”

James lifted his hands up slightly in surrender, smiling slightly. “I wouldn’t, I promise, but you know Cat would never have agreed with his decision not to run your story about the abductions. That’s all I’m saying. But this is what you brought to CatCo, a new voice, one that’s unafraid to speak up when no one else will. That’s why we need you, why you need to come back!”

That was enough for Mon-El. He didn’t like the way that he kept trying to pressure Kara into taking her job back. She shouldn’t have had to apologize for not being sure about going back to the place that fired her. As much as Mon-El wanted Kara to blob again since it made her happy he didn’t think this was the right way.

“You know what?” Mon-El said sternly, “Unless she has to take her job back this second, maybe you should back off and let her think.”

James whipped his head over to look at Mon-El, frowning. “Why don’t you let Kara speak for herself?”

Mon-El started opening his mouth to speak, but Kara got there first.

“James…” Kara took a deep breath before speaking. “I don’t want you to lose Snapper for me. I really appreciate what you’re doing, I promise. But he’s more valuable to CatCo than I am.”

James’ face fell and he looked at Kara sadly for a few moments before, finally, he just nodded at Kara. “As long as you’re sure, Kara. I know how much you loved that job, so the offer will always be there if you change your mind, just let me know okay? I’ll, uh, I’ll go and let you get back to your evening.”

Kara said a quick goodbye and let James out. She turned to Mon-El and let out a big sigh. Laughing a little uncertainly, he moved over to her and put his arms around her.

“So is this good nepotism or bad nepotism?” He asked her with a smile. He really just wanted to get a laugh out of her and he did.

Wrapping her own arms around his neck, Kara shook her head. This was a lot to try and take on. She loved being a reporter but she really wasn’t sure if she should accept James’ offer.

“What do you think?” she asked Mon-El.

“Me?”

“Yes, silly, you.”

“What if you don’t like what I think?” he said. Mon-El knew that he had stepped over the line before with Kara over work stuff and he didn’t really want to do it again. Especially not on date night. He waited, the started hesitantly. “Well, we talked about this a little before.”

Kara just continued to look at him supportively. It gave Mon-El the strength to continue on.

“CatCo was horrible for you. If you went back, nothing would change. You told me what happened when you first got the job, do you really think Snapper’s gonna take you suddenly being rehired very well?”

“Well, James is his boss,” Kara said diplomatically. “Just because he may not like a decision James makes doesn’t mean he can change it.”

Mon-El sighed a little in frustration. “This is an important decision for you, Kara, and I had enough of people in authority abusing that power when I was on Daxam. You were the one who told me nepotism wasn’t a good thing, weren’t you? And that leaders shouldn’t be abusing their power over others, you taught me that.”

“You’re right, Mon-El, I’m sorry, it was just a joke. A bad one maybe, but -”

“Snapper treated you like crap, Kara, worse than crap.” Kara’s smile very quickly disappeared as she turned back to face him yet again. He hated to be the one to make her stop smiling, but this was serious. He couldn’t let her make the biggest mistake of her life, not when he could do something to save her. He just wanted to protect her, always. “Now it would be even worse. He wouldn’t let you write the stories you want to write and you would just be even more miserable than you used to be.”

Kara remained silent, unsure what to do. Her gaze dropped from Mon-El’s face, down to the floor, up to the ceiling, and back and forth and back and forth as she thought it all through.

Mon-El reached up to push a strand of hair behind her ear and softened his voice. “You don't need James fighting your battles, Kara, you’re Supergirl,” Mon-El said. Right?”

“Yeah. I should be spending more time as Supergirl, anyway, you know? Saving people. It’s enough for me.” 

Mon-El smiled at Kara in relief. He kissed Kara’s forehead and pulled her into a warm embrace. She hid her face in his chest and clung to his shirt.

“I am so proud of you, Kara,” Mon-El murmured. “I know this must be hard, but I think it’s the right decision.”

“Thanks,” Kara whispered.

They stayed there for another few heartbeats before Mon-El pulled away a little bit and cupped her face so he could look into her eyes.

“You okay?” he asked.

Kara nodded silently and smiled at him. Mon-El smiled back.

Kara took a deep breath and then pulled away a little bit. “Why don’t we finish our date? The night’s not ruined yet! The Chinese should be here any minute and we still haven’t ordered your pizza!”

Mon-El laughed. “That sounds great, babe.” He walked over to where the menus were still lying on the counter and picked up the one for the pizza place.

Kara glanced back at the door for just a moment before she headed back over to Mon-El and picked up the phone to order the pizza for him.

Once the pizza was ordered, she sat down with him on the couch. “You know, James was kind-of right about one thing. You do need to let me handle things on my own sometimes,” she said gently.

“I know, but you shouldn’t always have to handle things on your own. Isn’t that what having a boyfriend is all about?” Mon-El said defensively.

Kara looked at him sternly.

“Fine, I know. I got jealous and I was stupid. It didn’t ruin things, did it?”

“No, you were right. Unless Snapper decides to descend from the heavens to give me my job back, it would be like Hell on Earth at CatCo. I don’t want James to have to deal with Snapper when he’s... the way he is.”

Mon-El hesitated for a few seconds before asking, “It’s not just about James, right?” It’s not that he didn’t trust Kara, he did, but Kara had hated Daxamites not that long ago and she had refused to admit whether she’d loved James or not. A little jealousy was normal.

Kara sighed, putting her hand on his thigh. He put his own hand over hers. She was so strong and powerful that it sometimes surprised him when his hand was larger than hers. “Of course not. It’s about me. I can fight aliens and vanquish crime and punch bad guys, but I couldn’t deal with my boss. I should have pushed harder to get Snapper to run that article or found a different way to convince him it was legitimate, but I was scared. Scared that people were going to die before I could warn them or help them, so I wrote that blog and I ruined any chance I might have had.”

Mon-El smiled at her reassuringly. “Like you’ve said, maybe it was meant to be,” he said with a teasing lilt to his voice.

Kara swatted his knee playfully.

“Sure, quote me to me, wise guy. I just hope I’m right.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just thought it was ooc for james to not use his position as CEO to help his friend, so I added it in. Kara can be very self sacrificing sometimes. I hope you enjoyed! I know I left it on a cliffhanger for a while. Even though I love this fic I lost motivation until SDCC! But I'm back! So please leave a comment if you liked it.

**Author's Note:**

> What do y'all think? Questions, comments, critiques, compliments? I appreciate them all!


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